Anthias, uronema or bacterial infection?

wamy2004 · Jul 21, 2023

Currently in QT 4 females all look ok but the male has a sore on top and his right side is starting to look red.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 21, 2023

wamy2004 said:
Currently in QT 4 females all look ok but the male has a sore on top and his right side is starting to look red.

May be post injury and has a bacterial issue on head. However the side of body with protruding scales appears to be developing uronema which these fish can easily acquire.
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this.
Fish will have to be quarantined and treated with formalin based treatment which is harder to find, so next option is Ruby rally Pro. Chloroquine Phosphate will also work but must be used precisely. Uronema is not an obligate parasite, and can thrive on bacteria, uneaten food, and waste so besides treatment also maintain a clean tank removing waste daily.
To touch up more on this disease which is an oval ciliated motile protozoan that causes tissue necrosis as seen on fish.
What other fish are in the tank?
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this.

Jay Hemdal · Jul 21, 2023

wamy2004 said:
Currently in QT 4 females all look ok but the male has a sore on top and his right side is starting to look red.

Looks like Uronema on its right side and an injury on the left side.
How long have you had the fish?
Internal Uronema just isn’t treatable, sorry….
Here is an article I wrote on it:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

wamy2004 · Jul 21, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
May be post injury and has a bacterial issue on head. However the side of body with protruding scales appears to be developing uronema which these fish can easily acquire.
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this.
Fish will have to be quarantined and treated with formalin based treatment which is harder to find, so next option is Ruby rally Pro. Chloroquine Phosphate will also work but must be used precisely. Uronema is not an obligate parasite, and can thrive on bacteria, uneaten food, and waste so besides treatment also maintain a clean tank removing waste daily.
To touch up more on this disease which is an oval ciliated motile protozoan that causes tissue necrosis as seen on fish.
What other fish are in the tank?
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this.

It’s currently in qt with copper and nitrofurazone. Got them last Sunday. 4 female anthias, the one male, royal gramma and fairy wrasse. We do water changes every other day, about 90% and vacuum out the bottom from and detritus or food. Salinity maintained at 1.025

wamy2004 · Jul 21, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Looks like Uronema on its right side and an injury on the left side.
How long have you had the fish?
Internal Uronema just isn’t treatable, sorry….
Here is an article I wrote on it:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

Had it for 6 days. I had a feeling it was Uronema. Should I remove it and what about the other fish. 4 other anthias, royal gramma and fairy wrasse.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 21, 2023

wamy2004 said:
It’s currently in qt with copper and nitrofurazone. Got them last Sunday. 4 female anthias, the one male, royal gramma and fairy wrasse. We do water changes every other day, about 90% and vacuum out the bottom from and detritus or food. Salinity maintained at 1.025

Youre doing the right measures for prevention. Nitrofurazone is an anti- protozoan, anti-bacterial for ulcers and fin rot, etcand may not be enough to control this as formalin based medications are most effective although im not a fan of formaldehyde

vetteguy53081 · Jul 21, 2023

wamy2004 said:
Had it for 6 days. I had a feeling it was Uronema. Should I remove it and what about the other fish. 4 other anthias, royal gramma and fairy wrasse.

You can isolate and treat lessening exposure risk to the other occupants especially if you have a QT available

Jay Hemdal · Jul 21, 2023

wamy2004 said:
Had it for 6 days. I had a feeling it was Uronema. Should I remove it and what about the other fish. 4 other anthias, royal gramma and fairy wrasse.

Internal Uronema does not seem to be very contagious fish to fish. IMO, you may find other fish in the group showing up with it, but they are already harboring the disease internally, you just can’t see it yet.
To be honest, I’ve stopped acquiring green chromis, yellow wrasse and orange anthias from SE Asia, too many issues with this disease, and there are many other fish in the sea!
Jay

wamy2004 · Jul 21, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Internal Uronema does not seem to be very contagious fish to fish. IMO, you may find other fish in the group showing up with it, but they are already harboring the disease internally, you just can’t see it yet.
To be honest, I’ve stopped acquiring green chromis, yellow wrasse and orange anthias from SE Asia, too many issues with this disease, and there are many other fish in the sea!
Jay

It seems anything that can usually go wrong we get it. Lol there’s a lot to learn but when there’s a chance something can happen we seem to have it happen to us. A lot of learning experiences.